In this NordVPN review, I’ll test their server performance, privacy features and customer support while pointing out seven reasons why I recommend using this VPN software instead of a proxy or a free VPN.

NordVPN Pros

NordVPN is probably the most popular VPN provider who boldly claims to be The World’s Most Secure VPN.

But I’ve seen those claims before. So I bought NordVPN and decided to put it towards multiple tests. Here are the pros I found…

1. Strong Features & Add-Ons

While being relatively cheap, they do provide some great features including:

IP hiding: Yes

Netflix access: Yes

Torrenting/P2P: Allowed

Ad-blocker

Access to their DoubleVPN servers which encrypts data twice

Servers: 5800+ fast and secure servers in 60 countries

Max. simultaneous connections: 6

Not only do they have applications for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, AndroidTV, Chrome & Firefox they have detailed tutorials for protocol connectivity for them and 40 other mobile OS, RaspberryPi’s and routers. They also offer a 7-day free trial for mobile users.

DNS Leak Protection: If you have set up your VPN connection manually (say you didn’t want to connect via OpenVPN) or have recently reset your Windows, you’re prone to DNS leaks. These DNS requests will then be completely unprotected. NordVPN have implemented measures to protect you and negate such leaks.

Onion Over VPN: For extra protection, or those desiring to visit the dark web (TOR network), NordVPN offers you the ability to route your traffic first through their VPN and then send it to the Onion Router.

SmartPlay: SmartPlay technology ensures you can access more than 400 geo-restricted streaming services; Netflix, Amazon Prime, Pandora, BBC, and others. With more and more VPN servers unable to access Netflix, this is a welcome feature.

OpenVPN (among other tunneling protocols)

OpenVPN comes with 256-AES-CBC with a 2048bit Diffie-Hellman key. I generally like to see DH over RSA, due to the former enabling Perfect Forward Secrecy. On iOS and MacOS clients, you’ll be encrypted via an IKEv2/IPsec protocol; AES-256-GCM and a 3072bit DH key,

In short, NordVPN has gone all out on security and has employed above industry standard encryption algorithms.

Double Data Protection

If you opt to turn this feature on, NordVPN’s double encryption will relay your data via not one, but two subsequent VPN servers, before it reaches the web page or application you’re attempting to access. By chaining your connection through two VPN servers, your data gets encrypted twice.

In addition to the double encryption, the second VPN server will be unaware of your original IP address and connections are always made via both UDP and TCP protocols. This is a “one extra step” security feature. The vast majority of you are unlikely to ever require it, especially if you’re using it only for torrenting and Netflix unblocking.

Not to mention the impracticality of the slightly reduced speeds you’re going to incur.

2. Strict No Logging Policy

While some VPN providers keep some logs, NordVPN doesn’t.

On their website, they’ve clearly stated the following:

Image from: https://nordvpn.com/privacy-policy/

However, they do monitor some lesser important data, such as:

Service performance data (for recommending most suitable servers)

E-mail address

Payment data (but you can also use bitcoins)

That’s the regular stuff that most (if not all) VPN providers are logging and it’s nothing you should be worried about. Especially when NordVPNs payment processor isn’t tied up with their main company.

3. Works Great for Torrenting and Netflix USA

Since NordVPN has a lot of servers they also work well with Torrenting and bypassing geo-restrictions on certain sites like Netflix.

When I tested NordVPN together with Netflix it seemed to work:

I have to admit, not all servers are working with Netflix, because we all know how Netflix tries to crack down certain IPs that belong to VPNs.

But 5 out of 6 should work. Here are my Netflix test results:

NordVPN servers unblocking Netflix:

United States (2)

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Canada

NordVPN servers blocked by Netflix:

Sweden

You can always get in touch with their customer support who will help you choose the right servers for your streaming.

Moreover, torrenting is safe and fast too.

NordVPN has made special “P2P servers” that are solely meant for keeping your torrenting activities safe and private. You can access the P2P servers via “specialty” servers list on their application.

5. No IP or DNS Leaks Found

Whenever I review VPNs, I always make multiple tests to see if they’re leaking my DNS or IP.

To make these accurate, I set my location to their USA server used 5 different sites for checking DNS leaks:

IPLeak.net

Perfect-Privacy.com DNS & IP leak test

Browserleaks.com for WebRTC leaks

IPC.ax

Overall, I can be confident that your IP nor DNS will likely never get leaked when using NordVPN.

Furthermore, when I did research on Chrome extension leak test, NordVPN was one of the few that didn’t need to fix it as it wasn’t leaking (read the full case study here).

6. Located in Panama (Safe Jurisdiction, No Data Retention Law)

According to their website (NordVPN.com), NordVPN was launched 2008 in Panama and is operated by Tefincom co S.A.

All top VPNs are located in independent countries that don’t share information on logging (Switzerland, Singapore, Caymans, British Virgin Islands and so on).

NordVPN definitely hides this information well enough. And it’s good for their users, too.

However, when I actually paid for the test account to write this NordVPN review, my payment went to CloudVPN Inc (located in the US). So aren’t they really located in Panama like the claim?

To find out, I contacted NordVPN directly and here’s what they wrote to me:

“Hi Rob,

First, NordVPN and all the infrastructure we use is being run by Tefincom S.A. and operates under the jurisdiction of Panama.

CloudVPN is used only as a payment collector in order to improve the acceptance rate, as banks are suspicious towards transactions made to Panama and tend to complicate or terminate such payments. It’s a simple and common practice.

Our company has absolutely nothing to do with the service itself in the legal or any other matters.”

To be honest – this makes a lot of sense. They are “officially” based in Panama which helps them to avoid any data retention laws.

7. Knowledgeable Customer Support via Live Chat

Even after reviewing over three dozen different VPN providers, hundreds of hours of testing, examining and reviewing, we still have questions or need for technical assistance.

Whether it’s to double check the encryption offered for your router, or a simple troubleshoot on a newly built rig, you will be forced to deal with the customer support of your VPN of choice.

If you’re a newcomer or not technically inclined? You might have some technical questions.

Any VPN worth their salt will have a prolific database of tutorials, how-to guides and informational articles in addition to live chat & quick email support.

Live Chat & Email

No different to the best of the best, NordVPN has recently begun offering 24/7 live chat that will assist you with any question you may have. I used their live chat twice, for an encryption question and an open-ended question.

Both times the Customer Support Rep was quick to help, but came with copy & paste answer.

Should you opt to use their email support, for more technical questions or if the live chat agent did not fully resolve your issue, you’ll receive another assistant who will help you with your VPN.

Knowledgebase

Just as important as live assistance for minor questions is the vast directory of support articles you will have access to. For a topic as technical as networking, making it accessible to your everyday layman is no small task.

After going through their directory and quickly skimming to any support related page I could find, I estimate NordVPN to have well over 500 guides and tutorials.

NordVPN Cons

1. Company Not Transparent Enough

As stated above, upon my investigation, NordVPN seems to be linked with CloudVPN Inc – A company located in the U.S. which is in contradiction of what they state on their website.

But that doesn’t mean they’re not private or actually located in the USA.

And by thinking twice – it made a lot of sense to me. So I wouldn’t section it to cons, though.

2. Refund Can Take ~30 Days

Although NordVPN offers 30 days money back guarantee, some of the people said that it works but not as fast as they expect it to.

According to them, it can take NordVPN up to 30 days to process your refund. I went into detail and asked the customer support about that, they told me that NordVPN process all refund requests 24 hours. It may take additional 1-7 days for your bank to refund your account, though.

While this isn’t a big issue, it certainly isn’t a very good user experience. Many VPNs provide instant refunds with a max waiting period of 7 days.

However, I wouldn’t refund (nor didn’t) NordVPN, so I doubt you’ll need to use that feature at all.

NordVPN Pricing, Plans & Facts

Trying to forget the above, let’s take a look at how much a subscription to NordVPN will set us back.

What’s more, you can buy it anonymously with bitcoin as well as with Credit Card or even AliPay. They don’t accept PayPal, though.

Once paid, you can get access immediately and you’re able to download their VPN software.

All those subscriptions come with a one-size-fits-all plan. Including:

No logging: Yes.

Ease of the VPN software: Signing up and using the app was VERY user-friendly.

Hidden fees & clauses: They cannot grant refunds if you purchased an app directly through the iTunes/App Store. Payments made using pre-paid cards or gift cards will not be refunded.

Upsells: No upsells.

DNS leaks: None.

Jurisdiction: Panama

Protocols: OpenVPN, IPSec, PPTP & L2TP.

Kill-switch: Yes.

Personally, I am all in favor of simplicity and fairness when it comes to pricing. Give me one plan all-inclusive plan and a few payment options and I’m happy. What’s more, they don’t set a bandwidth limit like many free VPNs.

Overall, when signing up for 3-years upfront, NordVPN is the cheapest VPN provider that we’ve reviewed till date.

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82 user reviews for NordVPN

The_Punzer 6/10May 31, 2019

Pretty good but

Pretty good VPN for security and price, speed is average. Doesn't unblock international Netflix anymore though.

Don Diego 10/10May 30, 2019

Works Nearly Flawlessly

I've not been let down by NordVPN. It works great. Sometimes Netflix won't work, but I gather that it's because Netflix is hawkish about finding and blocking VPN servers. It's baffling to me why some people are experiencing an overall FAIL of an experience, where it's not working right. I use Xfinity (Comcast), and don't have any problem at all.

JRA 5/10May 29, 2019

Worst Customer Service

I had issues with the product and wanted to cancel the subscription and get a refund. It was like running into a brick wall. Absolutely no way they were going to provide a refund as I was just a couple of days over 30 days.

I asked to talk to the CSR's supervisor and they just passed me off to another rep. They care more about the $100 than they do their reputation or customer service.

The product might...might... be good but the lack of customer service is not worth it.

Ainun 8/10May 24, 2019

Speed in Southeast Asia

I just bought NordVPN yesterday after my government decided to limit a lot of featured on social medias. This website gave me assurance on why Nord is what I need. The connection is okay in my area since the average speed never exceeded 10 Mb/s. Nord gave me a decent 6 - 8 Mb/s. But it's perfect for me because for my daily needs for chatting and sharing pictures with family.

Jordan 9/10May 22, 2019

works great and unblocks all the restricted content

I am happy that I've installed nordvpn on my smartphone, cause it would be impossible to travel in China without it... It works great, unblocks all the content I need.

David 1/10May 21, 2019

Another Flop

I just spent hours and hours trying to get NordVPN to work and when it finally did... just not worth it.

First, the usual payment hoops. When they finally accepted my payment, and the chat person confirmed it, and an email confirmed it, I set off to install the app.

Not impressed. They use an unsigned kernel driver (Windows) which Windows says therefore will not be enabled. Great. Back to support. "Yes," they confirmed. Our TAP VPN driver is unsigned. You need to change the boot configuration of Windows to allow unsigned drivers.

Let's see. VPN company promoting high level security can't even sign their driver?? This was a huge WTF moment for me, but I thought I'd give it a whirl anyway and so started to follow their instructions to enable unsigned drivers into the Windows kernel.

Right about then another email arrived saying that my payment had failed and therefore couldn't use the service. Back to chat. With no results.

Meanwhile, I finally got the app installed after more hoops, more very bad programming with their installer, more aggravation and delays. And the app totally sucks. I admit I may been spoiled after using ExpressVPN's app which I thought quite well done, but that's another story. See my review for ExpressVPN if it gets published.

The last straw was the speed. Slow to connect, slow in general. Speed test wouldn't even work on some servers.

How did I test that with my account not activated? Well, turns out the email wasn't true. My account was still active, but only for two days. But I'm done. The technical experience (signup, payment, app installation, app overall) is very poor. Their chat people are nice, and respond quickly, but that's not the reason I use a service. The service itself needs to work extremely well or even flawlessly. NordVPN falls way short. What a mess.

Anne 9/10May 17, 2019

Pricy but works great

I don't have much to say, but it works pretty good with Netflix (which is why I need a VPN in the first place), it's easy to use and it doesn't slow my connections that much. If the price would be lower I'd definitely give them a higher score.

Roy 4/10May 6, 2019

We bought due to reviews - which turned out to be fake

We went on reviews on this site as well as others that rate NordVPN so high if not top, we found them and their apps excellent their support OK (until asking for a refund). their use in Germany made the internet unusable as blocked from all streaming. We feel most annoyed at believing all these reviews, have a look at NordVPN on Trustpilot - where they have put a large warning that they are writing reviews on themselves! Until all these sites are no longer funded by the companies that review them then nobody can believe this rubbish.

Karl 4/10 May 4, 2019

Meh

The VPN is for mainstream consumers, not for tech enthusiast or tech geeks. Has many servers, looks nice, but features are limited. I noticed in your review the speeds were great, I had the opposite experience. Speeds from LA were terrible, my latency was always very high, and the IP's I received always seemed to be blocked anywhere.. I miss "hide my ass" when it used to be for techies....

Rich S 9/10April 30, 2019

Not the best for some uses, but in the top 10 overall

Pros: Lots and lots of servers.Support is good though hit and miss. Android app has ad blocking and used along with Blockada most ads are blocked. Most information needed is on the web site and is fairly well organized. Speeds from my location (Mexico) are good, though have dropped in the last month. Connections through Mexican servers suck. I use Dallas, Miami, Toronto or San Francisco with good results from Guadalajara. 100Mb fiber. Strangely Netflix works fine here without a VPN perhaps because my account is in the USA and other family members use it there.

Cons: Choosing the "Fastest" server doesn't choose well and the online list doesn't show the location of the servers. Worse, servers disappear for no known reason so when you "favorite" a good one it may not last. The Windows interface uses ~200MB to start and will expand to over 450MB (40+ browse tabs in Waterfox) but won't reduce when browser tabs reduce. No split tunneling, though you can proxy your torrent client separately. Was happier with PIA overall, especially the tech support.

Berger 6/10April 27, 2019

NordVPN was great but failing for MACos

I use NordVPN for several years now on a windows laptop and Imac computer. The last year the app for apple gave bugs after every update! The help is quick but they cannot resolve the issue most of the time. Later on it appears there was a bug. NordVPN is not transparent about it. Because the latest update gave me troubles again, and NordVPN could not resolve is I switch to another VPN just for my Mac. It is a pity that they cannot get the app for iMac right!

Nathan 3/10April 21, 2019

Plagued with issues

I am bitterly disappointed with the Nord VPN service. It has continually presented me with problems relating to connectivity, and download speeds, with no clear remedy on the horizon. It is not without its advantages though, as it is an affordable, easy to use, and versatile system. However, when I'm constantly experiencing connectivity problems on my devices, and internet speeds will frequently drop below 1mb/s for extended durations, it doesn't seem worth the trouble.

Their support team is punctual at responding to issues, but the quality of their support is low. I've frequently had exchanges with condescending service representatives, who fail to even understand the issue, before submitting a dismissive response.

Overall, I can find very little reason to recommend the service to anyone.

Charlie 9/10April 16, 2019

Amazon app on Android not working with NordVPN

NordVPN is fast and has servers all over the world. The only issue I have with NordVPN is that when using the Amazon app on my Galaxy S8+ 9 out of 10 times the app is unable to connect to amazon and you will get that page with the dog saying "sorry something went wrong".

Lance 8/10April 02, 2019

Glitch on MacBooks has not been fixed

Whenever I close my MacBook and it sleeps (several times a day), Nord has a glitch, where Mac users cannot get back onto the internet without quitting the application, waiting 10-20 seconds, reopening the app, then reconnecting. I went to NordVPN chat, and they say they are working on it. It's frustrating, though. Even if you quit the app, you can't log back into the internet, without running Nord. I hope they get this fixed soon, as I have passed my 30-day Money back guarantee.

Shum Singh 1/10March 30, 2019

NordVPN - worst provider

I paid for a yearly plan ($69) for NordVPN about 9 months ago. Initially (first 1-2 months) the service was fine. It was fairly simple to connect to servers in different countries etc. However, shortly thereafter (only 1-2 months since I started using the service) I was unable to connect to the network in any country. I tried repeatedly countless times over a period of several months to contact customer service via email & never heard back from them. I finally connected with their tech support via chat and all of the advice / information / suggestions provided were totally useless and in some instances actually illogical. Needless to say I would NEVER recommend this service as it seems they are running a scam. I tried repeatedly via email to receive a refund but never did as the service for the next 5 months never worked. Needless to say I would NEVER recommend this VPN provider to anyone!!!

I've used NordVPN for two years, just re-sub'd for three more. I did that before I noticed that the system has been redesigned. Where before I could scan lists of servers by nation, proximity, use (percentage obligated), and specialty -- even getting throughput speeds that exceeded even my high-speed ISP servers! -- now my NordVPN servers are chosen by a totally non-transparent algorithm. My throughput speeds are now regularly reduced by 50-75 percent (really slow) because I'm forced to use a server chosen by an algorithm into which I have no input other than "region," meaning a Big City: a grossly misleading factor. I get faster speeds from servers two regions away (still pretty punk) than I can get from servers in my nearest region. Now the only way to find a higher-speed link is to try every one and if I hit it big -- I haven't yet -- to mark it as a "Favorite," with a heart.

As I indicated, I've been a big fan of NordVPN, recommending it to anyone who asks or whom I know to be in search of a VPN vendor. I no longer can make this recommendation. NordVPN is reliable, in that you'll always get assigned to a server and the connection probably won't drop. Plus, the system may be more secure than others. But I haven't the confidence in the service's security that I had before. Its decision to limit user interaction is bad juju, indicative of a Big Tech mentality. At the very least, the company could have informed current customers it was going to constrain our server choices.. It obviously has other priorities.

I hope NordVPN comes around to putting its customers' needs first and foremost, not optimizing service at the expense of user choice. It really makes NordVPN less fun to work with and more labor-intensive than it should be -- plus the speed degradations resulting from algorithm-chosen servers are really sad.

WH 5/10March 29, 2019

Manual Config

On MacOS 14, I am unable to launch their apps. Customer Support asked me to use manual method and only use IP address, it works but when I tried their Obfuscated servers from what I like to be connected to, it does not. My frustration is I do not have time to keep using such manual method to find their IP address and check which is working and which is not...an apps should do it in this age. But their app on MacOS does not work! My IOS and android devices work fine though. But I have requested for a refund. Hope that the refund is smooth...

Jason 9/10March 26, 2019

Works. But with implications

I have to disable it completely to allow my apps to auto-update on my mobile device. I have to disable it completely to allow my Sony RX10 camera to connect WiFi Direct to my mobile device. However, these issues are ongoing with support who have been helpful so far. I work offshore in the North Sea and many installations restrict certain video sites and certain video sites "see me" as out of the territory but using NordVPN overcomes those issues fine. Embarrassingly easy, in fact.

Used it for 2 years, never had a problem. Easy to use while having lots of options if needed, very good bandwidth, can watch BBC (London) and Netflix (USA) thanks to all the servers all around the world, no weird packages behavior (doesn't steal info), never had loss of connection after hours of streaming.

Used it in Canada, USA and even Aruba! (Had to connect to Brazil or Costa Rica but the connection was surprisingly good and stable). I never tried any other non-free VPN but I can't think of a reason to change.

Joseph B 9/10March 23, 2019

Can't connect to some sites

When using a USA servers I can't connect to web like Walmart, Problem with Amazon, and few others

Try different settings but all the same. Connecting to Canada and using same website no problem but then I do have a problem connecting to other site like banking. So it is hard to say. Speed Is good and no problem with that. I don't see a speed drop using "SpeedTest.net" That's the only Complain I have. I try to use Windscribe on the same websites and no problem using USA servers. So I don't know why makes different.

llob taylor 6/10March 15, 2019

Not as good as HideMyAss VPN

I took advantage of a sale and bought the 3 year plan. I used to use HideMyAss but they gotten expensive. NordVPN is okay but doesn’t work for Amazon Video and Hulu. Also not very amenable to use with a router. Support was not very helpful either. I deeply regret buying this. The speed is okay sometimes and slow other times. I used HideMyAss for years too bad I fell for all the hype and got this.

Tuan V 10/10March 14, 2019

The best gets better

I have Nord now for about a year. Last year, I wasn't able to log onto Amazon.com. It seems Amazon prime was blocked. I had to disable it or select a Canadian server to get onto Amazon. It was a hassle. Now, I can get access to it. On top of that, I saw a slightly speed drop when I used VPN. Now, it's not as bad. When I do SpeedTest checks,, I'm guess around a 20% drop?? That's not bad. I have 200m at home so if I end up with 160 and be more secure, I can live with that.

Susan 3/10March 10, 2019

Nord VPN

I have given them a low score because of false advertising - almost every site online states they are cheap. This is just not true as if you want that $2.99/mth, you must pay for 3 years upfront which is $107.55. The 2 year option is about $97 and 12 month option $84. Paying monthly is $11.50 approx.NONE of these charges are CHEAP. Might be better to simply pay $80 for 15 mths of ExpressVPN!

Stephen Anderson 1/10February 22, 2019

NordVPN FAILED me

I've been using NordVPN for some months now with little to no problems. Until today. My main use is for P2P (file share) today however NordVPN disconnects (without my knowledge) to update. Meanwhile my File share continues. Then I get notice from my ISP informing me that I have been downloading copyrighted material. If it happens again they will disconnect me. So I while I am emailing NordVPN about the arbitrary disconnect it does it again. Another update and NO it didn’t even reconnect automatically. Something to keep your eye on. I feel as though I have been failed as a customer, They have FAILED me.

Benjamin 9/10February 20, 2019

Pretty good service

A few years ago I opted on NordVPN. Now I am about to renew after my second year with them, cause I’ve had zero issues, everything is working pretty well for me. NordVPN isn’t the cheapest option, but for me, it’s among the best. And what about the speed? It’s consistent, but there is a minimal lag while switching to a different continent.

Matt 10/10February 12, 2019

NordVPN + Cybersec

NordVPN should be rated ahead of ExpressVPN due to NordVPN having an ad blocker and malware protection feature called Cybersec. ExpressVPN has no such feature available. Even better is Cybersec is now available for iPhone, it's also available on Android if you sideload it from the Nord site instead of from Google Play.

Charlie S 5/10February 9, 2019

Slow, buggy on Mac

I've used NordVPN for almost 2 years on my MacBook and iMac and won't renew. Cust. svc. has been responsive, but after many hours and exchanges they can't fix 75% loss of speed (175+Mbps down to 30-40 Mbps) despite numerous changes, manual tweaks, different software (Nord IKE2), etc. It also often fails to make a connection to any server and/or re-connect when my laptop wakes. For me the other advantages of NordVPN do not outweigh these basic defects.

Brandon K 3/10January 28, 2019

NordVPN is okay - but ineffective

So, I tried NordVPN for one night, to access a couple of free streaming services that were US only. STIRR and Locast are the names of these services.

I've set-up Nord on my laptop and my iPod Touch 5 (and even made a US specific iTunes account so I could download the iOS apps for the two services I mentioned above. I'm Canadian, btw) but ran into several issues that might be either my fault or Nord not corresponding properly with the software of my other apps and stuff on the iPod Touch.

Now once I set-up Nord on my iPod Touch 5, I then logged out of my current iTunes account and made a new US-based account just for the sole purpose of accessing US apps and downloaded the Stirr and Locast apps. I set my NordVPN connection to a US connection (a couple of connections I tried based in New York) and then tried to watch the channels from the supported NYC market.

But had no luck, tried it again a couple more times and at that point I just gave up and stopped trying to fiddle around with things, cancelled my Nord and reverted back to my Canadian account.

I'm not sure if I did anything wrong or if there's something I missed but yeah Nord disappointed me.

Steve 10/10January 22, 2019

Very happy with NordVPN

Running Linux OpenVPN on my laptop and 2 Android Devices. Google Play recently made them remove the AdBlocker from the Google Play version of their app. After speaking with them and opening a support ticket they advised there was an apk on their website that restored the adblocker. I asked about how to keep updated and was advised to follow the news feed on Google Play. I suggested an in app update feature and 2 days later, this was added to the apk version. Support goes above and beyond to resolve the issue providing you fully explain your issue. I highly recommend this service.

Vlad 3/10January 16, 2019

Mediocrity is the VPN service

I have yet to find a VPN service that runs above amateur level. Most chat services are supported by individuals who have little technical knowledge and servers that simply don't work especially if you try to run a VPN from a router. Why? Because they don't bother to monitor operational servers. Why? Because they don't have the technical capabilities to run a script across those servers. Have you noticed how most of the companies that advertise VPNs have very similar User Interfaces? Really? Why is that? This whole area is rife with a junior-league smell. Show me one, just one capable, customer oriented VPN provider and I will use their service.

Massimo 9/10January 15, 2019

Good but missing a fundamental feature

Reading the reviews, I am surprised no one has mentioned the lack of Split Tunneling. In NordVPN. This is important to cast VPN streamed content to your home TVs. Without it, complicated solutions have to be found or just watch that content on your PCs, tablets or phones. Other VPN providers, like ExpressVPN, have it, so in my view this is a major gap folks at NordVPN have to fill.

Dan 8/10January 13, 2019

Congested

Six months ago I would have given them 100, I stayed on the same server for days. Nowadays I am having to change servers multiple times a day. I used openvpn, the vpn is on my router. Sometimes things will start to get congested within a half hour of getting on the internet. Luckily they do have a place on their website which will show a suggested server near me. It's not that big of a deal, but frustrating when pages don't completely load and etc. As soon as I switch servers, everything is okay again, for whatever amount of time.

Ethan 9/10January 4, 2019

Favourite provider so far

Costs a bit more, but it is reasonable and worth all additional fonctions as killswitch, cybersec, p2p servers or user-friendly app. I am pretty happy with the software, so it has proved to be a great investment.

ipMAN 9/10December 28, 2018

AUSTRALIAN sERVER

So far its a good software however when I look at on NordVPN map for Australia the location is always at the middle of Australia where the Pine Gap military base is located. Could it be that the VPN server is based in a USA military base and everything is recorded?

Casa 2/10December 26, 2018

Slow speed, unreliable connectivity, outdated software

Was a PIA user for 3 years (Excellent), decided to try Nord based on some reviews, sadly the service has been horrible, I truly regret signing up for it. Contacted support multiple times, the best answer has been been try TCP/UDP switching, my internet connectivity is blazing fast and PIA still works amazingly. I tried multiple locations (US, Canada), nothing works well consistently, it's a hit and miss.

I do not recommend NordVPN.

Coran 3/10December 13, 2018

Not for Linux/Ubuntu

People say it's good, but I can't actually use it on Ubuntu. First the DNS servers wouldn't get setup correctly by their native app. Hours on tech support messing around with system config files. Then the native app won't connect. Keeps trying but never actually succeeds. I tried everything. Rebooting, reinstalling, different protocols, different servers, different internet connections. Nothing. Just hangs trying to connect. Seems their Linux support is still flakey.

Peter M. 10/10December 4, 2018

Satisfied customer

I'm a satisfied customer at NordVPN, and the only problem I faced was to access Amazon’s web services like the Amazon store. Amazon seems to block most of the NordVPN IP addresses on Amazon’s side. Not a big issue but annoying.

NordVPN offered stealth VPN-Servers too. Maybe this service may help regarding to get easier Amazon access. I didn't try it out.

On IP-level: All services (UDP, TCP ports) are accessible through the NordVPN tunnel. Except few ports like SMPT port 25 and Samba (Windows Share) port 445. If you try to make an simple access on port 445, e.g. telnet on port 445, your account/access will be automatic and fully blocked for 1 minute or so, after this time out you will regain access. Seems to be some security measure.

Chris J 9/10November 29, 2018

Nearly merits 100 out of 100

Have been using NordVPN for about 3 weeks now across 5 devices. Was very easy to install across 2 iPhones, 1 iPad, 1 Macbook and 1 iMac. According to speedtests I performed there's a considerable loss but in reality its hardly noticeable with no buffering for Netflix or Youtube. Noticed that a few websites weren't accessible with VPN enabled so contacted the support via email. First 2 responses not helpful but then gave me procedure for some manual tweaking and now all works and have set up several profiles so can easily switch between locations depending on requirements. Not convinced however by Brad's opinion re Panama. If the US wants access they'll force the issue by usual bullying. But that applies nearly everywhere. Can only recommend it and won't test the refund option. Not giving 100% as the access to certain sites requires tweaking when this shouldn't be necessary.

Dustin 7/10November 28, 2018

Slow

Ran side by side comparison with PIA and where PIA only slowed me from 130 to ~120Mbps, Nord VPN slowed me all the way back to the 45-50Mbps range. Tried a couple nearby servers in the northeast, no luck. I'll stick with PIA which is easy to find for the same or lower price with discount.

John Doe 10/10November 27, 2018

Nord VPN Audit

Been with this VPN for a long time. They just did a audit of their services confirming they do not log anything. They delete all data from the server you use after each session after 15 minutes. They do log how many successful connections you make to there authentication server, but this is not a threat to security.

Lindie 8/10October 26, 2018

Good - but not always for BBC

Lots of good things about Nord VPN but there is one problem your readers might like to know about. If you're a non-UK resident using it primarily to watch the BBC iPlayer (as I am) it doesn't always work; cue 15-30 mins of watching those annoying pink swirly-gigs before giving up (often on a Friday evening I've noticed). I truly don't know why BBC doesn't allow us to subscribe to their service; would be very happy to pay so that I could get the service whenever I want it. Off to read a book now.

Tony 7/10October 19, 2018

NordVPN is fair but not great

ProsGUI is pretty easy and straightforward. Customer support via email is responsive and helpful - a real person.Easy to change/choose servers.

ConsDisconnections are frequent: I often have to shut it down to connect to a website. I have a client to whom I recommended NordVPN and now regret since I have to help him get around the issues. I have to keep the kill switch off so I can avoid losing the internet connection when I am in production mode.

Andriu 10/10October 9, 2018

The best VPN for streaming

I tested different VPNs for Netflix, BBC iPlayer and some events streaming. NordVPN provides the best experience, it goes without buffering or IP blocks by Netflix. Also, Nord has the intuitive app on Amazon fire TV stick (so no worries, it's easy to set up and use).

Richard 10/10October 8, 2018

Best VPN hands down

I started out with the NordVPN app and wanted more. I read online that you can use a router to put your complete home-network behind VPN. So, I bought a cheap ASUS-router, only to find out that I got a huge speed-bump using it. I wrote to NordVPN support and they told me the CPU of the router can't handle high speeds. Bummer. But, NordVPN support also advised me that i could build my own VPN-router using a pc and pfSense. And so i did. Had a few configuration problems, but NordVPN support was very knowledgeable and willing to help every single time. My VPN-router works flawlessly for almost a year now without any hickups. Kudo's for NordVPN support!

Tony 10/10September 27, 2018

Customer Support

I'm a first-time VPN user, therefore first-time NordVPN user. I had several questions answered quite quickly via chat - all satisfactorily. If not for the comment above, I would not have been able to tell the answers were cut/paste. Only gave it 99 because, well, I think no one/thing is perfect and we can all improve.

Kattz 9/10September 21, 2018

Nord and Amazon

In general, I am very happy with this VPN. It has worked almost flawlessly except when trying to connect to Amazon. I'm not trying to watch Prime Video from outside my country. I'm Canadian and I can't even shop on Amazon anymore. I usually have access to both the Canadian and US sites but not anymore. It's not easy to just shut down the VPN either since I have it installed on my router. I guess nothing is perfect.

Thomas 9/10September 9, 2018

Amazon & IMDB almost impossible to access

NordVPN works fine for me -- easy to setup and use -- EXCEPT when trying to access Amazon or IMDB (which is owned by Amazon). These sites are almost impossible to access with NordVPN. My Firefox "times out" trying to access them.

I must then turn off the VPN before accessing Amazon or IMDB. After I turn off the VPN, access is easy.

This is true even when I'm in the U.S. and use a U.S. IP.

Sidney Goldstein 5/10August 29, 2018

Used to receive good tech support

Nordvpn used to give great tech support and customer service. That's why I stayed with them past the free trial. For the last 3-4 months the tech support is not there. One tech rep even told me to go elsewhere and did not even try to resolve a problem. Many of the tech's when I called about this problem did not seem capable to understand the problem. When I reported this 'outrageous' behavior to the customer service people, there was no response. I wonder if the company has been sold.

Robert 8/10August 16, 2018

Good but no linux kill switch

Linux support is a little sketchy, when using the graphical interface to configure, you are limited to UDP, no IP. This may be a Linux issue, I'm not sure. You can do IP via the command line.. more importantly, because it uses openvpn it does not offer any kill switch capability, which could lead to you getting busted for torrenting. Fortunately, after a little bit of Googling I was able to create some shell Scripts that tweaked the firewall rules so that only tunneled traffic is allowed. That way if the connection to the VPN is lost, all internet connectivity ceases, preventing your identity from being revealed.

Meanwhile, it's plenty fast and I have it enabled by default all the time because there doesn't seem to be any performance penalty for me.

Mike 10/10July 19, 2018

I'm happy from the service

I really like Nord. Tried them after I gave up on a few free services. Got a coupon down at vpnmentor and it was worth every dollar I spent on it.The app for my iphone is easy to use and I stream netflix from my desktop here and there (can’t say I find a lot more in the US that I don’t have regularly)

Andy 10/10July 3, 2018

Satisfied

Took this article advice and bought a two-year subscription. As for now, I’m pleased with the provider.

Works excellent both on my Macbook and iPhone, and still have room for four more devices 🙂

Grady Porter 10/10July 2, 2018

a service you can trust

The fact that nordVPN is based in Panama is one of the main reasons why I’m using it – full privacy.

And it’s good to know that your traffic is being encrypted not once, but twice. Can’t find a better deal than that…

Steve 6/10June 29, 2018

Not For Me

I took the free trial but deleted before it had concluded. I had major problems with Amazon, and logging into the UK site via Canada just isn’t right. Tried other VPNs and they were fine so it is a NordVPN problem. Secondly tried to stream a video from Australia to the UK and it was just unusable. Again not a problem for others. Depends what you want a VPN for but for me, the two things I wanted were just a major problem so no thanks.

Tim 9/10June 29, 2018

Better than expected

I was actually the skeptic one when it came to VPNs, imagined a VPN would somehow create problems on my iPhone and be overall slow. I can say now I was quite wrong and also after a chat I had with customer support, I thought this one deserves positive feedback on my part. To make things short, the main reason I wanted a VPN was to be able to watch my favourite series on Netflix while travelling (and I travel a lot, both thanks to and hate to my job). NordVPN is perfect for that and what I also really liked is that the speeds are just about casual and also that I get to watch ads in different language and manner.One tiny annoying thing is that the servers are only divided by country but not the city.

dave 4/10May 23, 2018

Not working in UAE

I bought NordVPN to overcome the SKYPE blocking here in the UAE. I downloaded the program, and could never get a connection on skype here, and was unable to do anything on the internet at all. NordVPN sent me a rather lengthy support document, and I literally spent a few months trying to get it to work. Finally I gave up, installed a competitor’s VPN and instantly had crystal-clear SKYPE connections. NordVPN may be a great platform elsewhere in the world, but for the UAE, it is totally ineffective.

Steven 10/10May 22, 2018

Happy days

My primary concern when purchasing VPN was speed. As I heard many VPNs suffer from a speed drops, but being Nordvpn user, I honestly don’t see what people are complaining about? Of course, you might get around 5% decrease in speed, but look at a bright side you can overcome speed throttling which is frustrating when trying to stream something online

Maria Carmen 9/10May 22, 2018

some cons are almost pros

Thanks for the review Brad. I don’t know about you guys but I see the con of nordvpn company being “hidden” not like a con but like a pro more. It makes me believe in their ability to hide and deal with it (that is what I actually want from a VPN generally).

Kathy 3/10May 16, 2018

Nothing but trouble with internet since I got NordVPN

Still having trouble with internet since I got NordVPN. I suspect it is incompatible with Comcast as all devices that had Nord installed lost internet at home other than google sites and Yahoo. Today I tried using NordVPN on my iphone in a coffee shop but it would not connect and I lost internet in the process. Went to work and still no internet on my phone. I made sure NordVPN was not trying to connect by quitting the app (it was trying to connect). Still no internet. I completely erased the app from my phone and then got instant internet connection. So just having the app installed seems to be problematic. It must be trying to do something even when you tell it to stop. We have Comcast at work too. We’re looking into solving the problem with Comcast by reconfiguring the networks but it shouldn’t be this hard. Also, because I use the internet all day long in my job, I found my self having to turn off Nord too many times during the day because there were too many sites I could not access.

Drake Norman 10/10May 8, 2018

Best Choice

I don’t mind spending some money just to add more privacy and protection to my daily life especially when it’s affordable, and you don’t have to pay a fortune.

After all, many things we do like paying bills, purchasing, sending valuable data Internet is involved. NordVPN is helping me a lot just adding this extra layer of security and privacy.

I don’t have to be paranoidly connecting to Wi-Fi in a coffee shop. Recommended 🙂

Tom 10/10April 30, 2018

It suits my needs

Got concerned about surfing privacy after watching some YouTube videos. Since I’m a student and freelancing marketer, have to work at coffee shops with public network few times a week, I found NordVPN useful and feel much more safe in terms of hackers when doing such things like payments via online banking.

Vinnie Cervantes 10/10April 13, 2018

Thanks to their support

I’m definitely not technically inclined but their support helped me out a lot.

They were fun and easy to talk to and were able to catch up quickly to my level of knowledge. I’m glad I did not have to waste my time neither with them nor with device set up. Now it works great. Quick connect option is a true savior.

Jake 5/10April 9, 2018

Refund took over 30 days

The service itself is fine.

However, cancelling it is a different story. They kept charging me for months when I already cancelled my subscription. Every month I had to contact them again for a refund, which took more than 30 days. The service was really bad and they only solved the problem (they did not finish my cancellation in full in their system) after four months. All I got was a headache, and we are sorry for the inconvenience. Not recommedable if you want to cancel at some point in the future.

Dennis 10/10April 5, 2018

Good choice

Been searching for VPN that allows access to Netflix and Hulu and found NordVPN. Speed is great for streaming videos and torrenting. Nice choice for people with similar needs.

Sheldon Fletcher 10/10April 3, 2018

Great for iOS

I’m using NordVPN on my iPhone and iPad while traveling and it works like a charm. Solved my issues with banking and some other websites access that was limited to my state. Speed varies server from server but haven’t experienced a big loss so far. I’m going to test it out on my Mac once I get back home later this month.

SiriusMac 5/10April 2, 2018

Slightly slow servers

They have great pricing, but unfortunately it’s the case of you get what you pay for.

I was really not happy with the speed of the service. I have 400mb down and 40mb up. I literally saw a reduction in speed by 70%. I worked with them on this as well thinking they could do something, but nothing.

I then tried ExpressVPN and the difference was night and day! Perhaps this because they have servers closer to me, but NordVPN while I think it’s a good service, just didn’t cut it for me when it came the speed. I don’t pay for ultra-fast internet only tend up with 30% of the speed because of the VPN. I can live with a 25 to 30% cut which is what I get with ExpressVPN. The review says speeds have improved. My gosh I wouldn’t have wanted to use it before that then. I do like that they give 6 simultaneously connections and as I said the price is great.

Yvan R 9/10March 30, 2018

Excellent

Easy to install and to operate, fast, nice UI. Strange behavior with Chrome : some adds (in Washington Post for example) seem to be in a Scandinavian language! I don’t mind though. From time to time, I’m connected to a USA server instead of to a Canadian one. Not a practical problem either.

To summarize: I love NordVPN very much and feel safe.

Ernie 10/10March 29, 2018

Good for work

It is indeed a wonderful choice especially for business (that’s what got me to buy a VPN in the first place). We have few accounts with them (we needed few separate dedicated IPs) and if any of us run into any issue we can contact their support anytime. Thankfully, we did not have any major issues with this one so it makes me feel secure.

Spencer 9/10March 20, 2018

Great service

Works like a dream on all my devices and the only problem (with SMTP) was solved in 5 minutes by their live support agent.

Gabriel P. 10/10March 13, 2018

Speedy and easy

Have been using NordVPN for almost a year now. No problems with installation, customer service available 24/7 if you have any questions. Service connects quickly and is trustworthy.

No noticeable speed drop when connected to VPN especially after changing my antivirus which I had no clue was affecting the speed so much but it was the very first thing that their support advised me to check when I complained about unstable speeds.

Tom Peterson 5/10March 2, 2018

NordVPN tracks you with 4 separate analytics engines via website

I read some great reviews about NordVPN and decided to sign up. My confidence dropped immediately after installation, and I’m disappointed to find out the app has 3 tracking platforms built right in.

The reason I purchased NordVPN service / software was to keep Google from tracking everything I do. I have an android device. I have Google Fiber for Internet access. I have Google email at home and work. I have Google Voice for voicemail, Google contacts and Google messages for texts. I have Google sheets and Google docs.

Google knows every word I type, everywhere I browse. I don’t want an advertising company creating a database on me to sell me products. I downloaded the app directly from NordVPN to avoid the play store version.

They also have Google in app billing and Google licensing built in to the app.

There’s no need to have 3 different analytic engines to gather information run VPN servers. It’s very disappointing it after spending $79 to start getting away from Google.

Will 10/10February 20, 2018

great for additional security

I won’t lie – I tried it first because I liked the logo, and I liked the name.

Once I did, I knew that it had more to offer than style though: speeds were great, I was able to unlock lots of streaming content, it offers a system wide and app wide kill switches, it has browser extensions, it had cyber-sec feature… All of which makes me think this is really best VPN out there at the moment.

David 10/10February 15, 2018

Nice for the price

I subscribed to NordVPN during Black Friday/Cyber Monday, they were doing a $99 for 3 years offer.

What convinced me was that I was able to try them for free for 3 days (not available any more) and very, very importantly for me they offer SOCKS 5 proxies : almost all their servers, it seems, can be used via SOCKS 5 (use their server selection tool there https://nordvpn.com/servers/#recommended and use port 1080 for SOCKS5). Meaning I can connect several programs, on my computer, to different VPNs at the same time. Or also I can very easily rotate my proxies in Firefox (using FoxyProxy) without messing up my whole connection at the OS level.

The subscription comes with 6 connection slots, which is nice if you want to use a bunch of different IPs at the same time. Or if you have many devices. Just make sure you don’t over-connect, as it will randomly kick you out then.

The speed is decent, although not huge (depending on server load, I can get anywhere between 15 Mbps to 40 Mbps up and down, approximately, which is way below my fiber speed). But it’s fine for the price, and as my main use is SOCKS5 per program, it’s not really limiting.

My only criticism would be the reliability of the connection. It seems that micro-cuts are fairly common, meaning I can’t download big files that take more than +/- a couple of hours to download if the transfer software involved don’t support resuming. It’s not an issue for any other use case, though (like online gaming, browsing, etc)

My rating would be 8/10 for the small connection drops and the time it takes to connect in OpenVPN mode, but the SOCKS proxies are so important to me and super rare that I boosted the rating a bit.

Dan 8/10January 23, 2018

Fast, reliable, but no Hulu streaming

The primary purpose for trying out NordVPN was to access video sites not available outside the US, which is one of the selling points of NordVPN. First off, it was very easy to download their PC app as well as ios app and connection were likewise very easy. Once connected, the speeds were comparable to the speed of the originating ISP and the service seemed solid.

However, despite repeated tries, tweaking the settings, and clearing the cache, I was unable to connect to Hulu or YouTube TV (subscription streaming service) from Mexico. I did a live chat with a NordVPN customer support rep (who told me they do not condone illegal activities such as accessing websites or streaming services from outside the originating country … really???). And even after changing settings and doing everything they suggested, neither Hulu nor YouTube TV would work.

The pay TV services in the US have understandably come under fire from content providers in the past couple of years, and they have become very good at blocking content to VPNs. If you’re looking for a good VPN simply to provided a layer of security, this would be a good company to go with. But if you’re looking for it to mask your location for streaming services, it will be a real challenge (and I imagine that is true for other VPNs as well).

Miguel 10/10December 29, 2017

Very satisfied with NordVPN

I’ve been using NordVPN for the last few months, and I am satisfied with their product. I am currently on a 2-year plan, and I paid only $80 for this plan as part of a promotional discount. It has a lot of features that I find to be really convenient like the kill-switch and all the different options for servers.

Admittedly, I don’t really use some of their services, like the “Double VPN”, or “Onion through VPN”. It is nice to have these options, however, should the need arise. I’m always able to connect to a server, and I’m never disconnected from it. Connecting to NordVPN servers doesn’t slow down my internet connection at all, which is a major plus. Overall, I am very impressed with the price and services that NordVPN offers and would highly recommend it to people looking to purchase a VPN subscription.

Ariel 10/10November 8, 2017

#1 VPN in the market

If it’s your first VPN you could find some things you don’t like but if you try several different and then come up to NordVPN then you understand there is nothing to complain.

NordVPN is first in the market. IMHO like the biggest advantages, I could mention tons of servers, Netflix, P2P etc..

FluffyQuack 4/10October 29, 2017

Bad customer treatment

They offer a short, free trial, but this is hidden in their support pages and you’ll never find it unless you dig for it or someone else links you to it.

The purchase page repeatedly reminds you of their 30-day money back guarantee, but there are zero mentions how to request one (there are also literally zero mentions of this in the customer account pages). It works by contacting support, and then it’s up to them if they actually want to honor it.

Aaron 10/10October 14, 2017

My experience with NordVPN

There’s nothing like NordVPN! They keep everything in order and easy to use for anyone who is a beginner or someone that is advanced with technology! I believe everyone should give it a try as it is really useful to me when I want to be secured.

Great service, when I first got NordVPN I was new to VPN so I contacted them and they gave me all the information I needed to get started. It was not overpriced and it even had a sale, bargain! as well as there is a 30 day limit to if you want to refund if it was not good enough for you, but I believe it will be good for you, whatever you use, from a PC to a mobile device.

I love this VPN as its easy to use and I don’t have to worry about the tech side of it all. What I hate is, that it seems too simple but that isn’t an issue, that’s just my opinion.

List4meThin 10/10September 27, 2017

Flawless service

I’m for a few months with them, actually planned to get refunded after vacation, but decided to leave it because it works flawlessly.

Might be speed issues depends on many factors but I’m getting near the same speed as my ISP provides and it doesn’t matter I’m using US or Europe servers. Haven’t tried Asian or Pacific.

Chauncey 9/10September 27, 2017

Great VPN

NordVPN is very good service for all online activities, I’m using it for torrenting (their P2p servers are really fast), for accessing streaming services like HBO, US Netflix and of course for hiding my activities from government and ISP.

So far hadn’t got any problems and it is cheap enough comparing with features you are covered. The most important thing they don’t keep any logs!

Ankit Sharma 10/10June 11, 2017

many servers and options

I’ve been using NordVPN for a while now to keep my phone connection safe and private. The ping speeds are okay for a VPN service and they offer many options for servers.

This becomes handy when you need to access sites that have been blocked by some government.

Matt 10/10May 11, 2017

for travelling

I’m using NordVPN whenever I’m traveling to access Netflix. I think spending few dollars a month for a tool that allows you to get access to certain websites + keep your computer safer is a no-brainer really.

NordVPN is such a great provider for the money they sell their service for. I think they’re really cost-efficient, fast and secure. I have a group of friends, experts in the CyberSec area and they all recommend either PIA or Nord.

It’s easy for a first timer and keeps your stuff private. I had a hard time reaching them on live chat, but they told me that they’ve had a particularly busy time that day. After that, I haven’t had any problems with them. I recommend